Red Cloud American Indian Society

Boxes of new toys are piling up at the local office of the Red Cloud American Indian Society, a nonprofit organization that will deliver the items to tribal reservations as part of its annual Christmas benefit. The group hopes to provide 8,500 holiday presents to children on reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Representatives from the society will depart from Orange County in mid-December to personally deliver the gifts.

Boxes of new toys are piling up at the local office of the Red Cloud American Indian Society, a nonprofit organization that will deliver the items to tribal reservations as part of its annual Christmas benefit. The group hopes to provide 8,500 holiday presents to children on reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. Representatives from the society will depart from Orange County in mid-December to personally deliver the gifts.

The expressions on the faces of the children in the photograph range from awe to delight to outright disbelief at the strange sight they are witnessing. The children, who live on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, are watching television for the first time.

The Los Angeles Equestrian Center has started a drive to collect as many as 200 toys for an organization that distributes the items to poor children on reservations throughout the West. The effort is part of a larger toy drive campaign in which the Red Cloud American Indian Society, based in Irvine, plans to ship 7,000 wrapped Christmas gifts to children in 20 reservations or Native American groups in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Minnesota.

A deserted business park is the nerve center of a humanitarian effort that brings food, clothing, books and hope to a handful of poverty-stricken American Indian reservations in South Dakota and Montana. The Red Cloud American Indian Society works mostly with the Sioux tribes to provide items for daily sustenance, as well as materials such as computers and school textbooks that help the reservation-based American Indians improve the quality of their lives.

I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way Show them all the beauty they possess inside Give them a sense of pride, to make it easier . . . --From the song, "Greatest Love of All," by Michael Masser and Linda Creed. A fancy hamburger was on the menu for Jason Brave Heart, 9, when he dined before a benefit at the Irvine Hilton and Towers Saturday night.

His arms folded majestically and a headdress of white feathers cascading down his back, the Special Chief of the Great Sioux Nation stood with kindergartners Tuesday watching Sioux dancers perform amid chanting voices and beating drums.

I f you work nine to five, there is still time to volunteer. Many agencies that provide assistance and care--for children, the elderly, the needy, the environment and for the arts--are open at the crack of dawn, evenings, weekends and holidays. If your time is limited, you can help in other ways by donating items or making telephone visits with the homebound.

Many organizations are distributing toys, clothes and food to the needy and underprivileged in Los Angeles County. If you want to volunteer or contribute, or if you need assistance yourself, here's who to call: Children * Alkebu-lan Cultural Center, 317 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena 91104. This after-school tutoring center for youths at risk of dropping out of school and into gangs offers a boy's choir and drama and dance classes.

Some children have never received a gift-wrapped present. Some families are going without dinner today. This is the time of year for sharing not only with our loved ones, but with those without family and friends and with those who are ill, out of work or homeless. The following holiday wish lists from local charities suggest ways to brighten the holiday season for others--and for yourself--by sharing your money or your time.